Export MARC records for your library system
Your library system wants MARC records. Your books are on the shelves. TitleEntry gets you from one to the other.
Try TitleEntryTitleEntry exports brief MARC 21 records for the books you catalogue with it. Scan the shelves, give each copy a barcode, and download a .mrc or MARCXML file to load into your library system, with one holdings field for every copy.
Last updated: 26 October 2026
What each MARC record holds
Every record is built from the book’s own details in your catalogue. A field is only written when there is something true to put in it.
- 020 ISBN, written as ISBN-13
- 082 Dewey number and 050 LC class, when a book database supplies one
- 100 first author, inverted: "King, Stephen."
- 245 title and subtitle with ISBD punctuation
- 264 publisher and year, 300 page count
- 008 date added, year and language code
- 650 genre as a subject term
- 852 holdings: one per copy, with its barcode, shelf, call number, copy number and price when you record them
From the shelf to MARC records
Catalogue the books
Scan barcodes, photograph shelves with the AI bookshelf scanner, or import the spreadsheet you already keep. Every route ends in the same catalogue.
Give each copy a barcode
Generate copy barcodes from your own prefix and numbering, or type the numbers already on your labels. Each one goes into its copy’s 852 field.
Export the records
Export the whole library or only the books you select, as a binary .mrc file or as MARCXML. One record per title, one 852 per copy.
Import a few first
Load a small file into your library system and look at the result before sending the rest. Import settings differ from one system to the next.
One 852 for every copy
TitleEntry keeps one record per title and a quantity of copies. On export, each copy becomes its own 852 field: copies with a barcode first, then any without. A library that labels copies gets a record its system can match to the labels on the books.
Brief records, said plainly
These are minimal-level records, not records made by a cataloguer to full descriptive rules. They are good for getting books into a system quickly; a librarian may add subjects and notes afterwards. An existing catalogue comes into TitleEntry as a spreadsheet.
The barcodes in the 852 fields are the ones you print on library barcode labels. For building the catalogue, see the AI bookshelf scanner, the ISBN scanner and importing a spreadsheet; for schools, school library inventory.
Frequently asked questions
MARC 21 is the standard format library systems use to exchange catalogue records. Each record is a set of numbered fields: 245 for the title, 100 for the author, 020 for the ISBN, 852 for where each copy is held.
Yes. Import the spreadsheet into TitleEntry (CSV or Excel, with ISBN, title and author columns), let it look up the missing details, then export the books as MARC records.
No. They are brief records built from the details TitleEntry holds, marked as minimal level. They carry no summaries or full subject headings, and a cataloguer may want to add those in the library system.
It can. Many library systems replace a matching record on import unless told otherwise, and a brief record could overwrite a fuller one. Use the export for new titles and copies, and check your import settings first.
Binary MARC (.mrc, ISO 2709) in UTF-8, and MARCXML. Both come from the same records.
Library accounts. Get in touch and we will set one up for your school or library.